Tipping his cap to one of the best.
Sturgill Simpson does it again, throwing down some of the best covers I have ever heard. Throughout the Why Not? Tour, Simpson has mixed in some songs from the greats before him in his setlist. From Prince’s “Purple Rain” to Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time,” he covers songs from various genres.
And each one will leave you speechless.
During his Oklahoma show, Simpson tipped his hat to Keith Whitley, one of the biggest stars of the late ’80s and ’90s. Known for his painful heartbreak songs, Whitley’s voice captivates listeners after the first note. His tragic story of “what could have been” still haunts the country music community to this day.
Simpson put his soulful twist on his hit song “I Never Go Around Mirrors.” Lefty Frizzell initially co-wrote and recorded the single, and since then, it has been covered by many other artists like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Mark Chesnutt, Daryle Singletary, and more. Still, Whitley’s version is one of the most well-known, released in 1988 on his sophomore record, Don’t Close Your Eyes.
The heartbreak ballad highlights the tale of a man who can’t bear to look at the broken man he is in a mirror. Part of the reason he avoids them is because he knows that looking at his reflection in his state will break him even more, but also because he can’t bear to look at himself standing alone without the woman he is still in love with by his side.
“So I never go around mirrors
I can’t stand to see me without you by my side
No, I never go around mirrors
Because I got a heartache to hide
And it tears me up to see a grown man cry…”
Sturgill’s rendition of the song is stellar. He turns up the blues on the song and delivers the melancholy tune with ache in his vocals. Simpson breaks down the song to an even slower tempo, allowing him to add in some impromptu guitar riffs that amp up the soul and the heartbreak feel of the ballad.
After hearing this version of the song, I officially need Simpson to take this one to the studio. He might as well throw down a whole cover album if he keeps delivering covers at this rate.
No one is doing it like Sturgill Simpson right now. The man is on top of his game.
@thecindygreenteam I Never Go Around Mirrors – Sturgill Simpson (Keith Whitley cover) @ The Criterion, OKC 10-8-24 #SturgillSimpson #JohnnyBlueSkies #KeithWhitley ♬ original sound – The Cindy Green Team
This one has been in the rotation for quite a while, actually. Stu and the boys performed it at the KEXP studio back in 2013: